Landscape ecology is a subdiscipline of
ecology and
physical geography that is interested in the spatial arrangement of elements in the landscape (such as fields, hedgerows, woodlots, rivers or towns) and how their
distribution affects the
distribution and flow of
energy and individuals in the environment. (Which, in turn, may influence the
distribution of the elements themselves.) Many different indices of landscape pattern have been developed! The growth of landscape ecology owes much to the development of Geographical Information Systems (
GIS) technology and the availability of large-extent habitat data (e.g. remotely sensed
satellite images or
aerial photography). Its theoretical underpinnings originate from MacArthur & Wilson's
Island Biogeography theory and subsequent
metapopulation theory. Landscape ecology typically deals with problems in an applied and holistic context.
